In this week’s Parsha there is the saga of the Emorite kings, Sichon and Og.  One of the pesukim describing Sichon’s lands has been explained by the Sages as follows:  “Those who rule over their inclinations say, let us make an accounting, weigh the loss garnered by doing a mitzva versus the reward, and the benefit of a sin versus the punishment for it”.  The first step a person must take in order to have control over themselves is to take a personal accounting. We must be sure that the path we are on is the correct one to achieve the goals that we are attempting.  Then each individual action must be measured and decided whether it will bring one closer to the goal or further.  When we make the effort to do the right thing we are promised assistance from HaShem in actually doing it.